RI has an interesting twist. I am not in state, but what might be an interesting study is to walk the docks and count the number of boats without reg numbers that display the stickers...I dont know as a non-RI resident, compliance may be high, just an interesting twist.

I walked two of the docks and did this today... I estimate about 35% of the boats had a current RI DEM sticker, and probably 35% either no sticker at all, or expired, despite the hailing port being in RI. The boat next to me, has a Mass hailing port, but is in RI all year. he has no sticker. 30% were either transients, or had no hailing port...

I have been paying for both my boat AND my dinghy to be properly registered... I guess that makes me a sucker...

This is probably the common language for most states (Arizona might be an exception) and certainly was the case in my experience. In Texas, they consider any boat in the water requires documentation compliance but enforcement seems to focus on weekends on popular lakes. When I walk around the marina I'm amazed the number of boats without current registration.
John

The rules say illegal to operate a vessel without a valid registration. boats in a marina are parked on private property however they would be subject to ticketing as soon as they got underway makes one wonder how many of those boats actually get used on a regular basis.

The rules say illegal to operate a vessel without a valid registration. boats in a marina are parked on private property however they would be subject to ticketing as soon as they got underway makes one wonder how many of those boats actually get used on a regular basis.

Which rules do you have in mind...I operated my last documented vessel for 10 years in Massachusetts without a state registration and to the best of my knowledge, that was and is legal. It certainty is not addressed in any CFRs...

FWIW, here it is:

Q: Am I required to register my boat?

A: State law requires the registration of any boat that is powered by a motor and operated on public waterways in Massachusetts. Registration is required even if the motor is not the primary means of propulsion for that boat. Some examples of boats that require registration include fishing boats with motors, recreational motorboats, canoes or sailboats that use motors (includes electric motors), and personal watercraft such as Jet Skis or wet bikes. Boats exempt from registration requirements include those that do not use motors, and documented vessels...

As a professional captain, though I've never had a "ticket", I have been boarded from time to time.
In my professional capacity, the USCG will hold me accountable for any infraction of the rules, while operating a vessel. However, if the "ticket" is for a physical problem or deficiency with the hardware (the vessel and her equipment) then I would expect the owner to reimburse me for both my time and expenses incurred dealing with the "ticket". If, on the other hand, the "ticket" related to the operation of the vessel, then it would be totally my responsibility to deal with it and any cost incurred.
In a perfect world, a delivery skipper should check everything aboard before departure, including the flares for instance. In reality, in the hustle and bustle of preparing a vessel for a voyage, some things are taken at face value or just don't get done, especially when departing a foreign port without access to a marine chandler. And delivering a vessel that has been in a bareboat fleet for 5 years, well...... Captain Ron had it right, "If anything is going to go wrong...".

David, someone in new London will someday get their (ahem) reamed out for answering your question on the phone. They're supposed to pass the buck and tell you to submit the question to the proper department. Because like all individual administrative personnel, they cannot give a legally binding opinion of the regulations they're supposed to understand and enforce.

If you can't get it cited, chapter and verse, and confirm what the actual regulations are? The opinion of some minion on the phone is sadly worth the paper it wasn't written on.

"CFR" refers specifically to the Code of Federal Regulations, which is one of the main bodies of federal law in the US. Anyone who thinks "the cfrs" are going to say anything about state laws is sadly mistaken. The only thing you may find in the CFR (not CFRs, it is always singular) regarding state laws would be a pre-emption that says "No state shall..." and then goes on to reserve rights belonging to the Fed. Anything that a state itself requires? Won't be in the CFR, it will be in state laws.

Where, again, it can be cited by chapter and verse and read directly. As in:
"46 CFR Part 67 - DOCUMENTATION OF VESSELS "

First number is the volume, second number is the chapter. Before the web, you had to physically go to a reference library, a law library, or a repository library to find to what they actually said.

I walked two of the docks and did this today... I estimate about 35% of the boats had a current RI DEM sticker, and probably 35% either no sticker at all, or expired, despite the hailing port being in RI. The boat next to me, has a Mass hailing port, but is in RI all year. he has no sticker. 30% were either transients, or had no hailing port......

I suspect there are a fair number of USCG documented boats in RI that don't pay their bi-annual registration fees. I always have, however, your survey may be flawed. Literally, until last year, I never applied the sticker they sent. I'm certainly not ever applying it to the painted hull, but I did decide to put them on the side of the mast. I think I was bored one day.

As for the poster who said its a better deal than sales tax, it may or may not be. When you get over 50 ft, its $620. Pay that for a lifetime and it really depends on what you paid for your boat to say whether it's a better deal. Most often, it is. Especially, if you've owned several boats that you would have paid sales tax on each time.

In the aircraft cockpit, there is technically an identified Pilot in Command. In commercial ops, its easy to know which that is. In general aviation ops, it isn't. Not all crews require two crew members, nor is the left seat always the PIC. Virtually no one in general aviation could prove who was the PIC after the fact, if there was a dispute.

The practical application goes something like this...... whatever pilot at the controls has the higher certificate is assumed to be PIC.

In practical terms, I suspect the USCG is going to see it similarly. If the boat is doing something stupid with a paid skipper aboard, they are going to hold the skipper accountable.

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